What Happens Now?
by Lovely.ExOh
Summary: After a terrible loss, Zoey and Chase do something that they reget later, and maybe for the rest of their lives. CHAPTER 14 IS FINALLY UP! SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT!
1. Chapter 1

**Zoey's POV**

I was sitting on my bed when he came loping in through my open dorm doorway. His hair was in its usual crazy curly style, making it look like a fro. His easy half smile gracing his features. That smile, it made my stomach flip flop, and his startling green eyes made my heart skip a beat. God I loved this kid. Chase Matthews. He's been my best friend since my first footsteps on the PCA campus. Ever since he ran into that flagpole, which I'm so glad he did thinking about it.

I just wish I knew if he felt the same as me. Lola, Quinn, everyone as a matter of fact assures me that I should take the plunge, and that he does like me. But I'm more of a traditionalist with these kinds of things. I want him to make the first move is what I'm saying. I don't want to have to make the effort, not that I wouldn't if I had to, but if he really liked me as much as people say, wouldn't he just kiss me, or tell me?

"Hey Zoe, how was your summer?" he asked me with such ease.

"Oh, you know, swimming, hanging out with Dustin, practically spending the summer over this kid Chase Matthew's house." I smiled at the last 10 words. Chase knew what I did over the summer, because I'd spent a couple months at his house over the summer. 

"Wait a minute!" Chase held up his hand, "Who is this Chase Matthew character?" he had a mock stern look on his face that was so adorable. I just wanted to grab his face and mash his lips against mine and never let him go.

"Well… He's tall; he has this crazy adorable curly brown hair, amazing green eyes, and the cutest smile on the planet." I pretended to faint at the thought of him.

"Sounds like some serious competition." He mumbled in a thoughtful voice. I got back up into a sitting position and found Chase's face only a couple inches from mine.

He had a look in his eyes I'd never seen before. His lips were parted slightly and I could feel his breath on my face. He took his hand and laid it on my cheek. My eyes fluttered closed against my will, and I could feel the shifting of the mattress as he came even closer.

"Hey guys!" suddenly, Chase's had was gone, and I could feel myself in that stupid pose girls in the movie make after the guy surprisingly kisses her. I opened my eyes and saw Lola facing the bunk beds. I silently cursed her bad timing, I was so close!

Chase was looking out the window at the PCA campus and he had this faraway look in his eyes. That mysterious look that was there was gone. Lola looked over at me and gave me a questioning look. Apparently she hadn't noticed me and Chase's position only moments before. I glared at her and she looked embarrassed. She knew how much I liked him, and how epic that moment could have been. She pointed to the door and I nodded furiously.

She looked around for a minute, trying to come up with a reason to leave the room, but before she had time to blurt out a lame excuse, Chase stood up and sighed. He looked at me, not like usual, though, something was different. I felt like smacking my head at my lack of thought. Of course he was looking at me differently. We were centimeters away from kissing!

"I should probably go." Chase mumbled, "See you later Zoe?" He looked at me again.

"Definitely." I gave him a broad smile and stood up to hug him goodbye, but by time I looked up, he was gone.

I plopped back down on my bed and growled in frustration. "LOLA!" I shouted. She started looking frantically for an excuse to leave the room again. "Do you not look at what you're interrupting?" I said through gritted teeth.

Lola looked at me apologetically. "I'm really sorry Zoey. I had no idea!" she looked really upset. I knew I shouldn't have yelled at her, but I was angry, and I needed to vent, and Lola was there. Suddenly Quinn came bursting into the room hauling a cart full of gizmos, gadgets, and things that looked just plain weird. The hair on the right side of her head was braided, while the other side sat plain.

"Are you guys ready for our senior year at PCA!?" she squealed. Easy for her to be so ecstatic, she had a boyfriend. She didn't need to worry about capturing some guy's heart, then making out with him until she couldn't breathe. She looked at Lola, then at me, I shook my head no, then dropped my head back down on my pillow and screamed.

**Chase's POV**

I can't believe I almost did that. I almost kissed the girl of my dreams, and she didn't look disgusted with my behavior. In fact, the seemed like the polar opposite. Zoey had never given me so much as a hint as to her feelings about me, besides the friend related ones. I walked into my dorm and found Logan and Michael fighting over the single bed.

They noticed me, and have me a halfhearted wave before returning to their argument. I let myself fall down onto the couch and thought about what would have happened if Lola had shown up five minutes later. Michael took a temporary hiatus from his feud with Logan and sat next to me.

"So, did you tell Zoey you love her yet?" he looked at me with that mischievous look in his eyes that he always seems to have. I looked at him dead in the eye, and I opened my mouth, but nothing seemed to come out. I tried again, but the same result.

Michael looked at me funny and put his hand on my shoulder. "You sick man?" I nodded. I was still processing the whole kissing scenario, and his first question. "Yes." Michael backed away from me a little and reached for the trashcan. "If your going to throw up man, I'd prefer you do it in this." He looked at the can, then at me.

"No. Not sick. Yes." I wasn't aware of what I was saying. My mouth was acting of its own accord. My brain wasn't quite sure what was happening yet. It was still back in 101 with Zoey, my hand on her cheek, her eyes fluttering closed at my touch, the feel of her breath on my face, I could practically feel her lips on mine.

"What?" Logan was in on the conversation now. Michael and Logan were looking at me like I was going to get sick, and in a way, I felt like I was.

"I did it. I took the plunge." I said. I don't think Michael even remembered his first question. "I told her Michael." I beamed. I had finally caught up with everything. "Told who what man?" he questioned. "Zoey!" I shouted, "I think I told her I loved her!" I was frustrated by now. Michael was giving me this weird look, and Logan's jaw was practically on the floor.

"Way to go man!" Michael clapped me on the shoulder. "What'd you say to her?"

"I didn't really say anything. More like, almost kissed her." I said. "Does that count as telling her?"

"Almost? Why almost? Why not. 'I did kiss her?'" Michael interrogated.

I frowned, angry all of the sudden. "Lola."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chase's POV**

Her leg was bumping into mine while we were sitting in our chemistry class. It was driving me absolutely insane, and I think she knew it too. She is such a tease. She looked over at me and gave me this look that made me want to reach over and kiss her right there. Michael was making these weird "GO FOR IT!" gestures toward her and I gave him a disgusted look.

He knew that Zoey and I weren't like that. If we ever managed to get some alone time, then that's when I'd want it to happen. Our first kiss that is. I haven't tried anything since that fateful first day back at PCA a week ago. The day after the whole thing happened, Zoey acted like nothing had happened.

I was confused. How could we just go back to being the way we were before that? I didn't _want_ things to be the same. I wanted to be able to love her openly. I didn't want to have to hide my feelings anymore. I elbowed Zoey a little and motioned for her to turn the volume down on her laptop, and she complied. I quickly opened my school instant messenger, which was our first and last name with no spaces and thought of what to say to her.

**ChaseMatthews: **Hey, can you meet me by that big tree in the center of campus later?

**ZoeyBrooks: **Yeah, why?

**ChaseMatthews: **I'll tell you when I see you.

**ZoeyBrooks: **What time should I meet you?

**ChaseMatthews: **Around 5-ish?

**ZoeyBrooks: **Sounds good, see you then.

**ZoeyBrooks has signed off at 3:10 P.M.**

Suddenly the bell rang and Zoey was gone. I looked at Michael and have him thumbs up. He thrust his fist in the air and started doing this odd dance. Lola came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder and he stopped like she'd shot him with a tranquilizer dart. I'd have to remember to ask him about that later.

I walked back to my dorm as fast as I could. I wanted to look decent for my meeting with Zoey. I actually ran a comb through my hair, but it looked stupid so I spent ten minutes trying to get it to regain it's former puffed glory, but it only looked like I'd tried to tie my hair in a knot. I grabbed my towel and made my way down to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I needed one anyway.

**Zoey's POV**

I was sitting on my bed doing my trig homework when Lola walked in, much like she had the day she interrupted me and Chase. I thought about that moment a lot. What would Chase's lips feel like on mine? Soft? Wet? Chapped? Chase hadn't tried anything since that day a week ago. Maybe he took Lola bursting in as a sign that we shouldn't be together after all? If that's what had happened, I'd have to kill Lola.

"So, what was that IMing thing in chemistry today?" she asked in a not so subtle way.

I looked over at her. "Let's just say that you and everyone should stay away from the big tree in the center of campus at five." I almost growled. Lola looked concerned for her life for just a second, before yelling.

"Zoe, its like, 4:55." She almost shouted in my ear.

I must have blacked out or something, because the next thing I knew, Lola was practically picking me up and throwing me out of our dorm. I glanced at my watch, 4:56. I was wasting precious time. I started running through the hallways, and out onto the grounds. I sprinted around people, and jumped over just about everything without trouble, until my fly luck must have run out because I went to jump over a kid tying his shoes and my foot just hit him lightly in the back, and I went down. I landed on my side, and I could feel the skin on my arm tearing, but I didn't care.

I saw someone try and come over to help me, but I was already up and out of there. I made it to the tree just as Chase was. He took a quick glance around, and spotted me. The side I landed on must not have been very visible at first, but then he came closer and his eyes widened. He grabbed my arm and pointed at it, then looked me in the face.

"I tripped over someone tying their shoes." He shook his head and smiled a little.

"Were you really in that much of a hurry to talk to me?" he looked down at me, that smile still etched across his features. I blushed, I couldn't help myself, that smile made me crumble. He took his finger and put it under my chin, making me look at him. His eyes searched mine, and I melted. He took his finger from under my chin, and took my slightly scraped hand in both of his. He uncurled my fingers away from my palm, and looked me in the eyes as he kissed it.

He quickly dropped my hand and took my face between his hands and kissed me. He tasted just like I'd imagined he would. There was something different about the way he kissed me. There was something extra hidden between layers of excitement and urgency, like I was going to walk away from him forever, or I was a dream. I don't know if I felt it in the way his mouth moved against mine, or the way his thumb brushed gently against my cheek, or the way his other hand fisted in my hair, unwilling to let me go. And later when I was lying in bed, I finally figured it out. It was hundreds of tiny promises. Promises that he would never let anyone hurt me, that he would never let me go, that he would always fight for me, that he would always love me. I fell asleep that night, touching my lips, wondering how many others were waiting for me to uncover.


	3. Chapter 3

**Zoey's POV**

"No, really, why didn't you tell me earlier? Can you imagine the time we could have had?" We are sitting at the base of the big tree where we had our fateful kiss just the night before. Chase is sitting with his back against the tree, and I am sitting between his legs, my back against his chest.

"It's complicated Zoe." He struggles with the words. I know how he feels. I feel like a moron for not having noticed it so long ago. The way he always accidentally hurt himself when he saw me, when he had to get that secret message back, when he broke up with Rebecca when she said that he couldn't talk to her or see her anymore. It couldn't have been clearer, yet I'd gone on for years, not knowing.

"Please tell me." I turned to look at him and gave him my most pitiful glance, puppy dog eyes and all. He smiled weakly at me.

"I love you so much Zoey, but, what would have happened if we'd have broken up? Our friendship would have gone down the drain. I couldn't stand the thought of not having you, so I just, lived with it. For a while, being your friend and being with you was enough, then, the other day, it just wasn't."

I looked him in the eyes, and his eyes glistened, with regret. I leaned towards him and kissed him softly. I pulled away, and looked at him again. He was smiling a soft, sincere smile. He touched his thumb to my lips, seeming to marvel at them. I turned away shyly. I always seemed confident, but I was always so self conscious.

It felt amazing being with Chase. Everything seemed so perfect and right. Except for one thing. "Why can't we tell anyone?" I asked him. Chase had suggested that we keep it a secret. I didn't know why, but with my self conscious issues, I thought that he was ashamed of me or something.

"Because Miss Zoey Brookes. I want you all to my selfish self." He leaned in and gave me a deep kiss. I sighed, leaning into it. His lips made me forget the world.

After a couple minutes of kissing, Chase reluctantly pulled away from me. The absence of his lips from mine made mine feel cold, lonely. "I should get you back to your dorm before people start to wonder." He whispered. I nodded reluctantly. I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay with him in this moment forever. I took a mental snapshot of the fireflies, of the trees, the way the leaves fluttered, even though it wasn't breezy or windy. I felt the cool grass beneath myself. I was saving this memory for later. I was going to hold tight to it, and never let myself forget.

"Hey Zoe, you coming?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at Chase. He was smiling down at me, and his hand was extended, an invitation. I grasped it and he tugged me up. I came up only an inch from his face, and I leaned in ever so slightly, and let my lips just barely graze his. Chase's arms slipped around my waist and he pushed more into the kiss. I pulled away teasingly, lightening the kiss. I didn't want to leave.

"Your such a bad girl Zoey Brookes." He mumbled against my lips. He tried to push in again, but I pulled away.

"Just a few more minutes." I whispered on his lips. He nodded and he reached in again, except this time, I let him kiss me hard on the lips. I opened my mouth against his, and I smiled when he hesitantly explored my mouth.

When he finally pulled away the sun had finally set. "We really have to go now Zoey." He brushed a stray group of hairs from out of my face and took my hand, pulling me along behind him.

When we got to the entrance of my dorm hall I stopped him. "Chase?" he looked back at me, his lopsided smile more sincere than I had ever seen it.

"Yeah Zoe?" I looked him right in the eyes and I put my hands on either side of his face and got close to him.

"I love you too." I leaned in and gave him a soft kiss before I let myself walk into my building, up the stairs, and into my room.

**Chase's POV**

It was amazing. Being able to kiss Zoey, touch her, and openly love her. Why hadn't I told her earlier? When I'd told her, the reason it just sounded so stupid. He didn't know why he didn't want anyone to know either. It wasn't really the reason he gave Zoey, but she had believed him. Truth be told, he just wanted to see if his friends would notice all the extra touches he had given her in the past week.

The way his fingers brushed hers when they were walking, or how he pushed her hair from her eyes. How she hooked her ankle around his when they sat together at lunch, all the secret whispers where he let his lips just barely graze her ear and cheek. All seemingly insignificant to any passerby, but to them, it was the world. They communicated through touches, whispers, looks given to each other across the lunch table.

Apparently their friends didn't know them very well, or were very good at pretending they hadn't noticed.

"Hey, Chase. Have you brought up the whole, almost kissing thing to Zoey yet?" Michael was tossing a ball up in the air and catching it. Chase hid the smile that graced his lips.

"Uh, not really." He lied. Michael wouldn't notice his hesitation, and if he did, he would just bring up the whole Lola shoulder tranquilizer thing. Actually, he'd bring that up anyway. "So, what's going on with you and Lola man?"

Michael looked at him and the ball fell to the ground with a thud. "Whaddaya mean?" he said suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing, you've just been acting differently around her is all." I smiled to myself when I saw Michael struggle for words. _Now you know how I feel when you bring up Zoey. _I thought.

It was true. I got so tongue tied and my stomach did this thing where if felt like it was being twisted into an undoable knot. No matter how uncomfortable it got though, it was always the best feeling in the world. At least it was now, since I didn't have to worry if she got the same feeling as me.

"Nothings going on. I-I don't act different. You must be going crazy with your pent up Zoey Love. Your seeing everything through love colored glasses." He stuttered a little. Something was definitely up. I smirked and looked at Michael, who was leaning down to pick up the dropped ball. Suddenly Logan burst into the room, he was huffing, like he'd just run around the entire campus.

"She's back man. I can't believe she's back. I thought she was gone forever." He said excitedly. He jogged around the room, picking out clothes from his drawer before looking under his bed for his Axe spray.

"Who's back?" Michael asked. I looked at him and shrugged.

"Dana! She's back!" Wow. Logan was excited for Dana? I shouldn't talk though. I injured myself every time I saw Zoey on the first of the year because I was so excited.

Suddenly Zoey, Dana, Lola, and Quinn came into the room. My eyes were instantly drawn to Zoey; she gave me a small, hidden smile, and looked away. I wanted to grab her right there and kiss her in front of everyone.

"Hey guys." Lola said, mostly to Michael, and I think everyone noticed. Zoey sat down on the bottom of the bunk beds, my bed and looked at me flirtatiously. No one noticed of course. Maybe they were just really used to it by now, that it was almost like normal behavior. I instantly forgot what I was doing and sat down next to her. No one noticed again. Zoey looked at me. She was stifling a laugh. I smiled at her. She was gorgeous when she smiled. I wanted to make her smile all the time. I waited for when everyone was busy asking Dana how her years in France had been, to give her a quick kiss.

She looked at me surprised, her mouth hanging open, but she definitely looked pleased with what had occurred. I nodded slightly towards the group, who had been too busy to notice. This time she couldn't stop herself. She burst out laughing and put her hand on my knee, like a support. People definitely noticed the laugh. Then they looked at her hand just casually resting on my knee, and they must have put it all together. Me and Zoey were always sneaking off together, making lame excuses, and she always came back with swollen, kiss bruised lips, and me, with the biggest most pleased smile on my face. The must have put together the secret glances, and the smiles.

"Oh my- Why didn't you tell us?!" Lola yelled.

Zoey stopped laughing and looked at me, her eyes were wide, scared.

She thought I was mad at her? Of could never be mad at her. I gently placed my hand on her lower back, looked at the ground, then looked back up at the group, who was waiting for their explanation.

"Because we just wanted some time to ourselves." I said it simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well give us a kiss!" Logan and Dana urged. I looked at Zoey, who shrugged, before pouncing on me and giving me a deep kiss. I heard everyone whooping in the background, but it faded out after a little while, and I slipped my arms around her waist, and let myself get lost in this perfect happiness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chase's POV**

I walked through Zoey's dorm with new meaning. Everyone knew now, so I didn't have to text her to meet me. I had texted her this morning to see if she wanted to walk to class with me, but she hadn't responded, and I was worried. Had she changed her mind about me? Were we already over, even though we had barely begun? With every thud of my anxious heart, a new possibility popped into my imagination. I shook my head, trying to get the possibilities to tumble from my head and away from me.

When I got to her room, the marker board was marked bold with letters that barely registered in my head. I quickly opened her door, expecting to see her with some other guy, but instead, I saw her curled up in bed, asleep. Her phone charging on her nightstand blinked with the words, 3 new text messages. I rushed next to her bed and gently placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Zoe, are you okay?" her eyes fluttered open and registered my face. She smiled a little, before she gave a small shriek and pulled the polka dotted covers over her head. "What are you doing you mad woman?" I joked searching for the edge of the blanket.

"Don't look at me! I'm sick, and I'm not wearing any makeup!" she shouted through the comforter. I almost laughed out loud. I finally managed to find the edge of the blanket, and I pulled it back, revealing her. She quickly clapped her hands over her face and looked at me through the gaps in her fingers. Didn't she realize that I always thought she was beautiful? I pried her hands away from her face and she looked me in the eyes.

I leaned in and kissed her. She seemed to lose herself for a minute before quickly pulling away. "Don't. I'll get you sick." Her breath tickled my cheek and I climbed into her bed with her. She scooted over quickly, making room for me. "Don't you see that I don't care?" I whispered in her ear. My lips brushed her earlobe and she shivered. I wasn't sure if it was because she was cold, or if I had really affected her that much. Her lips quickly sought mine, and my hands found their way to the base of her skull, cradling her head.

God help me, this girl's going to be my downfall. I would do _anything _for her, if it meant she would let me kiss her. I would climb the tallest mountain if she would let my hand run down her arm. I would jump from the tallest bridge, if she would smile at me.

I felt her hand tangle itself in my hair, and I lost myself in the way her lips moved against mine. I pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes, her chest heaving for breath. I rested my forehead against hers, and I let myself caught my breath.

"Do you even know what you do to me Zoey Brookes?" I asked her. We stayed like that, cuddled against each other for I don't know how long, before she turned to face the other way, and I felt my body spoon up against her, trying to get as close to her as possible. I felt her body gradually relax, and I heard her breath even out, and only when I was sure she was fast asleep, did I let myself climb off the bed, and go around to the other side to look at her.

I memorized every curve and plane of her face. I counted the freckles she had on her arms, and I made myself memorize the exact shade of her hair. I etched the shape of her lips into my mind, and how her eyes curved. I took in as much of her as I could, before I walked back around to the other side of the bed, kicked off my shoes, and lay down next to her. I closed my eyes and memorized the way she breathed, to anyone else, it might have sounded like any other person breathing, but to me, it sounded like a symphony. Something completely amazing and beautiful different than any sound anyone had made before.

When I finally let myself open my eyes, it was almost four in the afternoon. Lola and Quinn were sitting on the bunk beds, IMing with so much vigor, I thought that the keys had to be smoking. When Lola finally looked over at me, she gave a quiet squeal and pointed it out to Quinn, who turned to me and squealed as well. I put my fingers to my lips and then pointed to Zoey, who was still sleeping. Quinn and Lola put their hand over their mouths, like it would take the sound back, but it was too late.

Zoey made a soft sound before sitting up and stretching her arms. She looked over at me and smiled. I moved my eyes back and forth between her and the other two girls. Zoey looked over and her mouth dropped to the floor. I wanted to laugh at her expression. Lola and Quinn got up from the bunk beds and stood at the foot of Zoey's.

"You guys looked so cute! Chase was all curled around you like a shell, and you were smiling in your sleep Zoe, it was just too adorable!" Lola blurted. Quinn nodded excitedly and looked at me, a weird glint in her eyes. Zoey looked down at the comforter shyly, and started playing with a string that had come loose. When she tugged on it, it made the fabric surrounding it bunch up.

"Well, I feel much better than earlier." She looked over at me and smiled broadly. I smiled back.

"We're just going to go… talk to Stacy about cotton swabs. We'll be back later." Quinn practically shouted. She pulled Lola out the door behind her and I faintly heard Lola going "I wish some guy would lay by me when I was sick!" I heard Zoey giggle beside me. I turned to her, my lips trying to form the words I had wanted to ask her earlier on what would have been a walk to class.

"Do you want to go out with me later? Like, somewhere off campus? I can understand if you don't feel up to it. Or if you want to go some other day or if you don't want to go at all…" I was rambling, and I knew it. Zoey cut my ramblings short with a soft, teasing brush of her lips.

"I would go _anywhere _with you Chase Matthews." She whispered. I smiled broadly and found her lips. I gave her a soft kiss and pulled myself away. She pouted a little but I made myself resist the urge to stay here with her all day.

"I'll pick you up around seven?" I asked her. She nodded. "See you then." I bent down and gave her one last kiss before exiting her room, my mind clouded over with her smell, her smile, and her kiss.

**Zoey's POV**

I was ready for Chase's mystery date by six thirty. I had texted him several times asking where we were going, but he wouldn't tell me. Lola looked me over, inspecting my outfit, a black, knee high skirt and a charcoal colored t-shirt. She nodded after I made a full turn and Quinn shook her head. "I still think there's something missing." She mumbled to herself. She had been saying that for the past half hour, and I must have changed my outfit 20 times, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. "I know!" she shouted and ran to my jewelry box. She rummaged around for a minute before shouting "AHA!"

She pulled out my Z Key. I smiled incredulously. I had totally forgotten about the key. I hadn't worn it in so long. As Quinn was helping me fasten it, someone knocked at the door, and I had a feeling I knew who it was. I looked to Lola to open it, but she was already at the door.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked the person at the door. I laughed.

"Yeah, I'm here to pick up Zoey. Just let me in Lola." I heard Chase say back.

"I'm sorry, there is no Zoey here." Lola pretended to start to close the door, before laughing and opening it. Chase walked into the room and laughed a little at Lola, before turning to me. He stopped mid step, and I wondered to myself whether that was a good or bad thing. I looked down at my high heel clad feet shyly. Next thing I knew, Chase's finger was under my chin, pulling my head up to look at him.

"Never look down to anyone." He whispered almost fiercely. I smiled at him and he gave me a soft kiss. I sighed and pulled away. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" He smiled mischievously and shook his head. He took one of his hands off my waist and reached into his back pocket, producing a black, silk blindfold. My mouth dropped open and I looked him in the eyes, making sure he wasn't joking. He smirked, and made a motion for me to turn around.

I complied and gasped when he actually slid the cool silk over my eyes. He gently tied it in a knot at the back of my head. He grabbed hold of my shoulders gently and led me out of the room. "Later guys." He said to Quinn and Lola. After a minute of walking, he tightened his grip on my shoulders and stopped me. "Your gunna have to let me carry you here. I don't want to risk you getting hurt." He whispered in my ear. I bit my lip and nodded. I felt his arm brush the back of my knees and I giggled. He hoisted me up quickly, like I was no added weight. He pulled me close and whispered "I'll have to remember about that spot later." I bit my lip again. When I heard a loud noise and a rush of air I almost screamed, thinking he had fallen, but when he kept walking with me in his arms, I figured we were okay. When he finally put me down, the ground sunk beneath me, and I smiled to myself. We were on the beach. When I felt his hands nervously fumble at the knot, I giggled. When he finally managed to undo the knot and pull the blindfold away, what I saw made my heart stop, and the words I was going to say catch in my throat.

He had set up a table on the beach, lit by candles, wine glasses with water, saucers stacked up, waiting to be filled with food. All this was housed by a white canopy. I literally had tears in my eyes. No one had ever done anything like this for me. I turned to Chase, who actually looked at me, his eyes searching for some sign of approval from me.

I shook my head and his head went down to look at the sand. He bit his lip and sighed deeply. I rushed over to him and pushed his chin up to look me in the eyes. "Never look down to anyone." I quoted. He gave me the brightest smile I had ever seen and led me towards the table. Before I sat down however, I gave him the deepest kiss I could muster, putting every emotion I had into it.

_God I love this kid. _I didn't even care about the meal right now. I smiled mischievously.

"Let's ditch dinner." I whispered. He smiled again. "Exactly my thoughts." He mumbled back, before laying a soft trail of kissing across my jaw and down my neck. I pulled away from him, taunting him. I smiled and ran, my high heels flying off my feet. I looked back to see Chase just starting, I ran as fast as I could toward the water I knew would be freezing, I saw Chase shed his dinner jacket, already reading my mind. I ran through the water, and dove down. I came up gasping for air, my hands instinctively pushing my hair from my eyes. I gave a small scream when I felt Chase's hands grip my waist, spinning me around. He had a wild look in his eyes. That was the look I had seen that fist day back at PCA.

It was want. I kissed him again, this time harder than before. I knew the water was freezing, but we didn't care. His kisses made my whole body feel like it was on fire. I loved it. I loved this moment, I loved this feeling, I love this boy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chase's POV**

I laughed as I watched Logan running frantically around our room. He'd been like this ever since Dana came back from France. I took a baseball from off the floor and started tossing it up in the air and catching it.

"What are you so worried about Logan? It's just Dana." I asked casually. What was with everyone being lovesick all the sudden? I've always been head over heels over Zoe, but I've never seen Logan act like this about a girl. Suddenly my phone beeped and I put the baseball down to look.

"Why do you even bother to check who it's from? We both know it's from Little Miss Perfect." He snarled back. It took everything I had not to punch him right in is perfectly tanned skin when he said that. I took to looking at my phone, and to my surprise, it wasn't from Zoey, it was from Dana.

_Wanna meet me later to catch up?_

I looked at Logan, who was dousing himself in axe spray.

_Sure. When and where?_

I sent the message and waited. I must have lost my train of thought because I started thinking about that amazing date with Zoey last night. I was counting how many times we'd said 'I love you' when Dana's text message came in.

_10 minutes. That big oak tree in the center of campus?_

I squirmed a little. That tree was mine and Zoey's spot. Where we had our first kiss. I thought about how meeting Dana there would make her mad, then I laughed at myself a little. Zoey wasn't like that, she was understanding, perfect.

_See you soon._ I texted back and got up and started pulling my shoes on. I looked up and Logan was looking at me like he expected me to sit there in that axe scented room and watch him primp.

"Where are you going? To meet your _girlfriend_?" He said the word girlfriend as if it were a foul word, a curse, like we didn't dare say them.

I charged at Logan and stuck my forearm under his throat, pinning him to the wall. "Stop saying shit like that about Zoey, or God help me I'll kill you Logan." I snarled. He nodded and I took my arm back. "And for your information, I'm meeting Dana." I said this last part as I was walking out the door.

"What do you mean your meeting Dana!" He shouted as I closed the door. I kept walking even after I heard him open the door and shout questions at my back. I walked out of my dorm and toward the center of campus.

Dana and I hadn't really seen much of each other besides in classes, so I was excited about seeing my old friend again. I made it to the tree a little early, so I say down at its base, and with a smile, I realized that this was where me and Zoey were just the other day. This exact spot.

Almost as soon as I'd drifted back to that night, I heard someone sit down next to me. I cracked open one of my eyes and saw a riot of caramel curls. I opened my eyes fully and sat up a little straighter and smiled.

"Good to finally talk to you Matthews." She punched my arm jokingly and I laughed.

"I could say the same Cruz." I smirked.

"So, you and Zoey." She said simply. I nodded. She looked down at her perfectly manicure fingernails and picked at the cuticles. I looked at them intently. Zoey's were a little bitten, it was a nervous habit she had.

Dana looked back at me, a strange fire in her eyes. She pursed her lips and lunged at me, knocking me flat on my back. She hovered over my face, her lips only centimeters from mine. I tried to squirm out from under her, but she had my arms pinned with her own. She leaned down even more; I could feel her lips brush my cheek, leaving a trail of strawberry scented lip gloss. "I know you want me Chase." She whispered huskily into my ear and I tried to pull away again, but it was too late, her lips were on mine, and the damage was done.

I faintly heard people talking and I strained to hear. Dana's thick Spanish hair seemed to block out all sound. Her lips were moving against mine, it felt strange, foreign, and just not right. I strained to hear the screaming voice. Dana shot bold upright, freeing my hands, giving me a chance to wipe my mouth of her taste, and to scramble out from under her. I looked around and that's when I saw her, Zoey. She was standing at the top of the steps that went towards the tree. Her books were scattered over the ground by her feet.

I could see the tears welling in her brown eyes. I could see the hurt, the shock of betrayal, but most of all, I could see her heart shatter before my very eyes. I watched her breath catch, and I watched her clutch her stomach, as if there was a great pain. I saw her knees give out beneath her, and I watched her look at me, look at Dana, then look away, shielding herself from the things she didn't want to know, what she didn't want to see, and what she wouldn't let herself believe.

**Zoey's POV**

I turned slowly back to where I had just seen Chase and Dana, hoping that what I saw was just a mirage, but I saw him slowly getting up, walking towards me. I quickly gathered my fallen books and ran.

I ran from him. I never thought I'd have to do that, but here I was, my vision blurred with tears, my hands shaking, my knees moving as quick as they could, my head pounding with tremendous pain. I ran to my room, where I locked the door and threw my books across the room, breaking a lamp. I shouted, I threw things, I punched my pillow, and nothing made me feel any better. I lay on my bed, and curled up like a ball. Maybe, if I tried hard enough, I would grow a covering, and I could block it all out.

I felt an ache in my chest. I wanted to _die._ I ran to the bathroom that was connected to my room and I threw up in the toilet. I washed my mouth out and I wanted to throw up. I could taste him on my lips. I could feel his hands on my hips, my face. I turned the shower on full blast and put it as hot as it would go. I shed my clothes and jumped in; savoring the awakening feeling the scalding water gave me. I felt his fingerprints melting away, I felt the feel of his lips on my collarbone disappear, I tasted nothing. I finally let the tears fall. I cried when I knew no one else would notice. I stood in the water, letting it cascade over my skin until it turned the angriest shade of red I'd ever seen skin go.

I turned off the water and stood in the shower for how long I didn't know. I let myself cry more. I let myself sob. They racked my body; echoing through the bathroom, hollow sounding, a cadence for the broken hearted. It sounded like I felt. Drained, empty, exhausted, and oh so tired of crying. I grabbed a towel and tried myself off. I heard a knock at the door and I instinctively went to it. I opened it and I saw Chase. He had the most beautiful apologies hidden in those green eyes. He opened his mouth and I heard a string of lies. No matter how beautiful they sounded, I couldn't be sure if they were true. He was still standing outside my door, trying to explain, when I placed my red hand on the door, I looked back into his eyes, echoing his apologies, before I closed the door on him, on the world, on my life.

**AN: Yeah, I know, it's really short. I wish I could have made it longer, but I've been under a lot of stress with school (I had to do my grad project, which is something my graduating depends on), and to top it all off, I've been helping plan a really big family event, other than thanksgiving that is. Thank you guys for being so patient. I'm going to try and get the next chapter up by next week, because trying to post this often is starting to take a toll on me.**

**P.S. ****BrooklynBridge, I hope you like the twist! Thanks so much for the excellent reviews by the way!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chase's POV**

It had been two weeks. Two weeks since I had kissed her lips. Two weeks since I had touched her. Two weeks since I had spoken to her, seen her, watched her sleep. I was dying inside. Nothing could possibly feel this bad without being lethal. I sat at the lunch table my food untouched, everyone else talking animatedly around me. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over and saw Michael looking at me funny. Everyone else was looking at me too.

"Chase. You okay man?" I looked back down at my lunch. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "See what I mean. He doesn't say anything, eat anything, or _do_ anything." Michael looked away from me and went back to talking, and it sort of faded from my hearing. I looked up and saw her. She was wearing sweats and a t-shirt, and she was carrying her lunch tray. Her blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail and she was going sans makeup. My heart felt like it was going to explode in my chest.

She looked at the lunch table and looked at me. I looked away, and when I looked back, she was sitting across from me. My heart caught in my throat and then skipped a beat. I wanted to reach out and touch her, tell her I was sorry, and let her know that everything was a mistake. I wanted to let her know that I loved her, did love her, and always would love her. I looked around the table; everyone else seemed as shocked as me.

I looked down, and then back up. She was still there, and she was acting as if nothing was wrong. I stood up after a minute, my chair falling behind me. I grabbed my food and turned my back on the group before walking away, throwing everything, including the lunch tray, into the trash can. After I dumped the food out, I ran. I could hear someone calling my name, but I didn't stop, I ran onto the quad and tripped, sending my body through the air, before landing in a sprawled mess on the ground. Tears streaming down my face, not from the fall, but the hole in my heart. I heard someone lay down beside me and I felt someone grasp my hand, lacing their slender fingers, filling me up to the point where I felt like I was going to explode. I turned to the side to look at her. She was looking at me, the saddest smile on her perfect face. It took all I had not to just grab her and kiss her right there.

"What happened?" her eyes pleaded. She didn't want to be like this anymore either.

"I was laying down on my bed in the dorm. Logan was running around, he wanted to casually run into Dana later, and I got a text message. It was from Dana. She wanted to meet and, you know, catch up. I met her at the tree, and we barely said anything before she just, jumped on me, and she leaned down, and smeared her lip gloss on my cheek" I rubbed there, it felt like a giant scar. "and she whispered 'I know you want me Chase' and then she kissed me. I couldn't pull myself out from under her, and when I finally got the chance to escape, you were there." I looked at her, and she was looking up at the sky above. I we stayed like that. Hand in hand on the quad, staring up at the sky in silence before I found he face blocking my view of the sky. The setting sun created a glow around her, an aura.

Her hand found its way to the side of my face and I stopped breathing for a minute, unsure of whether this was all a dream. She bent down low and gave me a kiss on the cheek, a promise. She lay down across my chest and whispered "It's going to be okay, right?" I thought for a minute. "Of course." I nuzzled into her hair and sighed.

Maybe things would go back to the way they were before Dana had to come and screw everything up. Maybe we'd have another perfect dinner on the beach tomorrow, or we'd snuggle with each other in bed. No mater how many perfect scenarios went through my head, I knew that none were possible just yet. Dana would always be around; she would always be mine and Zoey's weak spot.

When the sun finally set, we got up. My arm had fallen asleep, and Zoey had some twigs and leaves caught in her ponytail. We walked back to the dorm hand in hand, quietly. We didn't need to say anything. When we got to Zoey's dorm, she kept walking, but I stopped. I tugged her back and kissed her like it would be my last time. Like I was going away, and would never be coming back. I pulled away, and she searched my face, confused. I smiled weakly at her, and she smiled back before heading off into her dorm.

**Zoey's POV**

After I watched Chase disappear into the darkness, I sank to the floor, sighing in relief. He was still mine. He wasn't _Dana's. _My face clouded over, and I stood back up. I stormed through the halls, my mind clouded over with fury. I knocked on the door of a single, and Dana came, she was wearing only her bra and panties. She took one look at me, scoffed, and started to close the door. I thrust my hand out and stopped it, before pushing my way inside.

"How could you do this to me Dana? I thought you were my friend!" I screamed right in her face. I pushed her shoulders on the word friends, and she stumbled backwards into the wall.

She looked at me with great ferocity and I almost lost my nerve, but I thought of Chase, and the look he had at lunch, and the way he had just kissed me, and all my doubts receded to the back of my mind.

"Because your _perfect._ You have the perfect hair, perfect fashion sense, and the perfect boyfriend. I thought you needed to be taken down a notch is all." She sneered at me.

"I thought you were my friend Dana. When you got back from France, all I did was try to make you feel more welcome, and here you are, stabbing me in the back. I _love _Chase. You almost ruined that forever. Do you realize the damage you could have done?" I watched as she sat down at her vanity and started applying some Beauty Rush Lip Gloss from Victoria's Secret, and fluffing her hair.

"Of course I knew. Do you think I would have done it otherwise?" I was fuming. I marched over to her, spun her chair around, and slapped her as hard as I could across her face, and it still wasn't hard enough. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, pulling me from the room, away from what could have been a homicide.

"What were you thinking?!" It was Lola. She still had a tight grip on my arm and was leading me back to 101.

I turned to her, "I was thinking that she's a lying, cheating, relationship ruining little slut." I tugged my arm from her grip.

"You didn't need to hit her Zoe." She said it quietly, almost as if she didn't want me to hear.

"Are you _defending _her?" I asked with incredulity. I stopped and looked at her.

She looked extremely uncomfortable. She tugged at her long black hair and she gnawed at her bottom lip. She looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet.

"Well, I know what she did was wrong, but, I've never seen you get _violent _before." She mumbled.

"That's not what you meant Lola Martinez." I almost yelled. A few of the doors opened up and I glared at the people who poked their heads out innocently.

"I mean, she's my family and all. I can't just let you hit her without saying something." I stared open mouthed at her. She hadn't told me that she was related to Dana. I shook my head and started to walk away.

"Don't be mad at my Zoey! You're my friend, and I love you like you were my sister, but that doesn't mean I'm going to support violence." Her voice trembled a little and her bottom lip quivered.

"You didn't get your boyfriend mauled by her. You didn't have to go through two weeks of torture. You don't understand Lola. Maybe when you and Michael finally admit that you guys are totally head over heals for each other, maybe you will, but until then, don't tell me what is necessary for when someone tries to ruin my relationship with a guy who I am totally in love with." I stomped away, leaving Lola looking shocked, and maybe even a little betrayed.

**A/N I absolutely hate this chapter. I'm no good at writing fight scenes, and there are going to be quite a few in the coming chapters I'm afraid.**

**Thanks for all the excellent reviews by the way. I never thought I was very good with writing, but your reviews tell me otherwise.**


	7. Chapter 7

Zoey's POV

I was sitting in Chase's room with him. We were snuggling and kissing, and watching a movie, and that's when the idiot burst in, with the one person neither of us wanted to see, Dana. She had her caramel curls pulled back into a ponytail, her face covered with a thin layer of makeup. She looked amazing, except for that light, barely noticeable unless you really looked hand shaped bruise that had blossomed on her cheek. I covered my mouth and Chase looked at me confused. I nodded my head towards her and he almost burst out laughing after a quick once over.

Dana turned toward us and glared, she knew what we were laughing about. Chase took my hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing it so softly I almost melted into the carpet.

Logan looked over at the T.V. screen and a smile broke out across his stupid, but handsome, features. "Dude, you're watching Blades of Glory? Mind of we stay to watch?" Before Chase could say yes, Logan had plopped down into one of the armchairs, and motioned for Dana to join him. She looked at me and Chase and hesitated for a minute, before coming over and sitting on Logan's lap. I watched Logan's arms snake around Dana's waist and I watched her turn around and kiss him hard. I turned to Chase, pleading to leave, but he was too engrossed in Will Farrell in a leotard. I turned back to the movie and tried to concentrate as hard as I could, but it was no use. I turned back to Dana and Logan, who were intently engrossed in their make out session. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Suddenly I felt Chase nudge my arm and I looked at him. _Do you wanna go? _He mouthed. I nodded earnestly and followed him out of the room. As soon as I door was closed I hit the wall open handed and sank down to the floor, a heap of tears and sobs. Chase bent down next to me and laid his hand on my shoulder. "It's okay Zoey." I lunged out and hugged him tight, making sure he was still there, still mine. I felt him wrap his arms around me, keeping me safe. When I finally stopped crying, Chase helped me up and led me out of Maxwell Hall, and towards the beach. When my feet touched the silky sand Chase swept me off my feet and spun me around in his arms.

"I LOVE YOU, ZOEY BROOKS!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and he kissed me hard, and I practically felt my lips bruise beneath his, but I somehow added more pressure, opening my mouth to him, kissing him like I never would again. He put me down and started kissing a line of fire down my jaw and my neck. I wrapped my hands in his curly hair and pulled him up and kissed him hard.

We fell to the sand and looked at each other I rubbed the tip of my index fingers over his lips, the curve of his chin, his eyelids fluttered closed and allowed me to touch the sensitive skin. I ran my finger over his eyebrows the bridge of his nose, memorizing every touch, every reaction, but mostly, I wanted to know things about him that no one else did. I kissed his eye lids and felt the flesh flutter beneath my mouth.

I finally stopped touching him and he opened his eyes, looking at me with such trust it almost broke my heart. I gnawed at my bottom lip and we sat there for I don't know how long. We sat there until the sky turned brilliant shades of pink, orange, and red. We stayed there until the magnificent hot colored rainbows gave way to a dark, velvety shade of blue, dotted with stars. We finally stood up when the blue was replaced by an inky black. I strained to see Chase's face through the darkness. I didn't want to lose him.

When I got back to my dorm, Quinn was measuring out levels of some kind of chemical that was probably dangerous to both of our healths. She glanced up and a wicked grin splashed across her ivory skin.

"Why are you looking all mad genius Quinn?" I questioned her as I threw my purse onto my bed.

"I've got an idea." She said.

"What kind of idea?" I asked. I was hooked.

Quinn held up a plastic baggie with a hairbrush in it, looked at it, then looked back at me, the most evil grin I've ever seen on her face.

"A brush?" I questioned.

"Not just any brush. This particular brush happens to belong to one Dana Cruz." My face hardened at the name.

"What about it Quinn?" I snapped. Anything to do with Dana made me irritable and extremely upset.

Quinn glared at me and went on. "I've taken some of the strands of hair from the brush and took some DNA from the thing at the end, and I put it through an analyzer to see what Dana might be allergic too. Not like a serious allergy, like her throat is going to close up and she's going to need an epi-pen or something, just something to make her itch uncontrollably."

I a wide smile stretched across my face and I put a finger to my chin in a thinker pose. "Intriguing." I muttered so she could hear.

"I was thinking I might just, you know, happen to walk by with some Daisies or something tomorrow." She said evilly. I nodded.

"Quinn, you are such an evil genius." I complimented.

"I know." She said simply before returning to her odd, genetically altered daisies.

**Chase's POV**

I was sitting next to Zoey at lunch, our ankles hooked under the table, when Quinn approached with a riot of rainbow colored daisies. Dana was facing me, sitting next to Logan, when Quinn tripped and the daisies flew into Dana's hair and onto her bare shoulders. Dana shrieked and turned to Quinn, sending the daisies flying. "What is wrong with you Quinn? I'm allergic to those!" I watched Dana scratch her arm, then her neck, and before long she was sitting on the concrete ground, scratching everywhere she could reach.

I looked to Zoey, and I saw a broad grin spread over her face. I grabbed her hand and led her away from the table.

"Did you do that?" I asked. I almost didn't want to know the answer.

She nodded enthusiastically. She was excited about it. _Since when was Zoey into revenge?_ I asked myself.

"Why would you do that?" she looked confused. "Why wouldn't I Chase. She tried to break us up."

I shook my head. I looked at her with disappointment. She was expecting excitement, and her face quickly dropped. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"You just had Quinn throw freak daisies all over Dana, and she fell to the ground itching like a maniac, and you're asking what's wrong?" I stared incredulously. She looked like she was going to cry. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd want to…" I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

"You thought I'd want to hurt someone? Sink down to their level?" I almost yelled, and Zoey visibly shuddered and backed away. "I can't believe you would do that." I stared at her, almost disgusted. Tears flowed from her eyes and all I wanted to do was kiss them away, hug her, and tell her I was sorry, but for some reason, I couldn't.

I shook my head one last time before turning on my heal and storming away.

"Chase wait, I'm so sorry, please come back." I stopped for a second and turned around. I saw the same look she had when she saw Dana kissing me, that look of utter defeat and sadness. "I'll do anything, just please don't walk away." She begged.

"I looked back at the lunch tables, then back to Zoey again. "Will you apologize to Dana?" she hesitated only a second before answering. "I'll do anything." She sobbed.

I walked back and cradled her in my arms. In a way, I understood why she did it, but in the back of my mind was a nagging feeling that wondered why Zoey had acted on that impulse. Why she couldn't just resist.

I felt her sob into my shirt and hold me tight, making sure I wasn't going anywhere without her. I patted her back and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be okay." I said, but truth be told, I wasn't even sure what okay was anymore.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chase's POV**

I stood with Zoey in front of Dana's door. I was taking her up on that promise to apologize. She looked at me, her hand hovering inches from the wood of the door, her eyes pleading not to do this. I looked away from her, and I heard her knuckles rap the door. Dana came and as soon as she saw Zoey and me, she started to close the door.

"Dana wait. I'm… I'm sorry." Dana eyed Zoey uneasily, before turning to me, and tossing me a secret smile. I reached for Zoey's hand but couldn't reach it. I wanted to look over at her, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Dana. I didn't know why. I wanted to reach out and touch her. I shook my head and looked around for Zoey, but she was already down the hallway, pushing the door to the stairs. I took one last glance at Dana before I raced after her. I pushed the stairwell door open and raced down the stairs.

_Damn she moves fast _I thought to myself. I was outside, looking in all directions, and I couldn't see her anywhere. I stuck with my gut instinct and ran towards the beach. When I got there, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. Nothing was there, no one was there. _How could I have gone the wrong way? I was supposed to know her better than anyone _I thought. I sat down on the silky sand and put my head in my hands.

"What is going on? Why does everything have to be so hard all the time?" I asked myself.

"Because you have to work for the good things." I turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Michael walked next to me and sat down. He turned to me and patted me on the shoulder. "Thing's will get better believe it or not." I looked out at the water and shook my head.

"I'm not so sure Mike." I turned back to him; he was staring at me, mouth open.

"Are you going to break things off with Zoey?" he asked me, a look of shock on his face.

"I'm not really sure Michael. Things have gotten so hard between me and Zoey. I love her so much, but ever since Dana, I haven't been thinking straight, and I don't think Zoey has either. I think, I think that breaking up with Zoey would be the best thing right now, or at least take a break. We both need to just, think about what's going on, and what we're doing."

"So you just want to throw me away? Just because things get a little hard?" I whipped my head around and saw Zoey standing there, her arms across her stomach, tears streaming from her eyes.

"No! It's nothing like that, and you know it!" I started to stand up and walk toward Zoey, but she backed away from me. "I think we just need to take a break. Things have been hard. We just need to, you know, heal." She hung her head and shook it back and forth before looking back at me, a fragile smile gracing her lips.

"So you do just want to give up because it's hard." Damn her. Damn her and her naturally evaluative nature.

"Stop it Zoey. You know I love you." I tried to reason.

"Then why won't you fight for me! If you love me so much, why won't you fight for me? Am I not really worth it?" her eyes hardened

"No no no! It's nothing like that, you are worth it! We just need to heal from this whole Dana thing!" I shouted. I didn't mean to. Shout I mean. She flinched and I felt horrible. I wanted to reach out and plead for her to just go along with it, it wouldn't be forever. A couple days, two weeks tops.

"We could heal together. But you obviously want nothing to do with me." She turned on her heal and started to walk down the beach.

"Zoey wait. Please don't do this. I'll do anything. We'll heal together just don't leave me like this." A clap of thunder suddenly split through the silence that followed, and it started to rain. She had her arms crossed across her chest, and she had that hard, defiant look on her face, and I suddenly wondered, _why was I even looking at Dana, when I have the most beautiful girl in the world right in front of me._ It was pouring out. I dropped to my knees and put my head against her firm, but soft stomach. I held tight to her hips.

She pulled my hands away and I thought she was going to walk away, and leave me to die a slow and painful death, but she knelt down in front of me and put her lips to mine. They were slicked with rain, but that made it all the better. I grabbed either side of her face and kissed her hard. I took my hands from her face and put them on her hips, pulling her against me.

We stayed like that until the rain started to let up, and Zoey pulled away, gasping for air. "I think you should take me home." I nodded and we stood up. I laced my finger's with hers and we headed toward the dorms.

**Zoey's POV**

On the walk home, I couldn't help but cast glances toward Chase. He had this smile on him face, like everything was all right, even though we both knew that it wasn't anywhere near that. I stared at the floor most of the way to my room, but once we got there, I let myself look up.

His hair was sopping wet. His normally frizzy ringlets lay in soft waves and stuck to his forehead. Hit purple PCA sweatshirt was dark and dripping with water. I looked him in the eyes and laid a hand on one of his cheeks.

"I'm sorry." He looked shocked for a minute, like he though I was breaking up with him. I shook my head furiously. "I'm not breaking up with you. I'm sorry about pushing you into the healing together thing. I know you only want what's best, so I'll do whatever you want me to."

He stared at me with such ferocity that it almost scared me. He planted a watery kiss on my cheek and smiled. "I want to do your plan." He whispered in my ear. I smiled and he kissed me one last time before walking away, going to his own dorm.

I opened the door to my room and walked in. I glanced around the room and what I saw hit my like a punch in the stomach. Lola was sitting on the bottom bunk, talking to Dana. Lola glanced over and I saw her dark Spanish skin turn pale. Dana's eyes turned into slits, and I imagined she was a snake. I imagined her sinking her fangs into my neck, injecting a venom that wasn't lethal, but so painful that death would be the better option. _Oh wait, _I thought to my self, _she's already done that. _I threw my purse onto the bedside table and changed into my pajamas, a shirt of Chases' and a pair of pajama shorts.

"I want to get to bed early tonight Lo, so can you try to wrap this up by time I get back from brushing my teeth?" she looked at me curiously before nodding. I walked out the door and into the hallway, making my way to the community bathroom. We had our own in 101, but I wanted to give her some extra time. I made my way to one of the mirrors that hung above the sink and stared at myself long and hard.

What was I turning into? I was the kind of girlfriend I always promised to myself that I wouldn't be. I was jealous, needy, a flat out bitch. I ran my fingers through my hair, and I felt my nails lightly scratch my scalp. It was like I was looking for the off switch. I quickly brushed my teeth and left the bathroom, trying to escape from myself. It was a wonder Chase hadn't gone running when he had the chance. True to her word, Dana was gone by tie I got back, but so was she. I flicked the lights off, sending the room into a black abyss. I stood there for a moment, thinking of all the possibilities this kind of dark made the room. I could be a different person, I could be in a different country, I could have a different life. But as I looked around the pitch black, my eyes started to see, and all my fun came to a screeching halt.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get you this chapter. I had a bad case of writers block, and then I had a whole mess of stuff due for school, but then I saw goodbye Zoey parts 1 and 2 on you tube, and I just had to write. There are no spoilers in here, so don't worry!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chase's POV**

Zoey and I sat at the lunch table, tossing grapes into each other's mouths when Michael and Logan came to sit. Michael eyed me and Zoey like he was expecting us to explode into another huge feud right before his very eyes. Logan was looking at himself in the little hand held mirror he kept with him at all times.

"You guys are okay. Right?" Michael pointed back and forth between Zoey and I.

"Yeah. What makes you think things aren't fine?" Zoey asked him curiously.

Michael shook his head and Zoey tossed another grape. This one missed my mouth and hit me in the cheek. She giggled before kissing the spot. I grabbed her waist as the started to lean back to her chair, and I kissed her deeply.

"I love this." She whispered onto my lips.

"I love you." I nibbled her earlobe and she giggled.

When Zoey and I finally separated, Logan was looking at us with disgust. Dana made her way to the table and sat down next to him. I watched Zoey's face harden and I slipped her hand into mine.

She looked at me and she smiled. I squeezed her hand and she nodded.

"We're gunna go." I told the group before standing up and walking away, Zoey following close behind.

We made our way to the big tree and lay down at its base. Zoey settled herself in the crook of my arm, her head resting on my chest. I ran my fingers through her hair and sighed. Zoey's arm snaked around my waist and she snuggled deeper into my chest.

"I can hear your heartbeat." She whispered.

"Really?" I smiled.

"Yeah. It matches mine."

**Zoey's POV**

Chase and I were sitting in my dorm watching the Notebook when Lola and Quinn burst in. They looked like they had been running for miles.

"Chase, Zoey. Something happened." Lola huffed out.

"What? What happened?"

"It's Logan; he's being flown to the hospital." Quinn practically shouted.

"What?! Why?!" I stood up.

"He and Dana got in a fight. Well, you know them. They Dana went to push Logan, and there were stairs. Well, Logan fell down them and he was bleeding everywhere and he was unconscious." Quinn grabbed my wrist and started pulling me to the door. I grabbed the hem of Chase's t-shirt and pulled him behind me.

"There's a taxi outside waiting to take us all to the hospital." Lola said from behind us.

We sped down the steps and out the door into the sunshine. We piled into the taxi where Michael was already waiting.

"Have you gotten the call yet?" Lola questioned him.

"No, nothing yet, but they promised they'd call if anything happened." Michael replied.

I grabbed Chase's hand and looked at him. He looked back and smiled a weak smile.

"It's going to be fine." He whispered. I nodded. I wanted to believe him, but I knew that something big was going to go down, and everyone was going to get caught up in it.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait on the chapter. The holidays are always so hectic for me. I know this chapter is short, but that writer's block I mentioned is back, and this was all I could manage to squeeze out of my poor brain. Sorry, and thanks to everyone who is still loyally reading this!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I just want you guys to know that this was a really hard chapter to write. I know that in the beginning, the decision I made will seem odd, but in the end, it'll work out.**

**Chase's POV**

Zoey was crying a little when we got to the hospital. When we walked into the waiting room, she saw Dana, and I saw her face harden. I held her wrist, but she shook me off and stormed toward the other girl. I shuddered to think about what was going to go down. I watched Dana visibly tense as Zoey got closer. I saw that Lola and Quinn were both loyally following Zoey, apparently supporting her decision to beat the snot out of Dana.

Dana stood as she approached, and I started to walk forward, but Michael held me back. "You have to let them work it out man. It'll never end if you don't." I nodded and watched.

As soon as she was close enough, Zoey lifted her hand and slapped Dana across the face. Dana's face hinged to the side and she looked at Zoey, tears in her own eyes, but I had a feeling it wasn't because of the slap.

"How can you be so selfish? You are not the person I was friends with. Your just, a monster. How dare you come here. He is here because of you. You should be sitting in the Dean's office getting expelled, or in jail or something." Zoey was inches from Dana's face, screaming.

Dana looked down at the floor and Zoey pushed at her shoulder. "Look at me when I'm talking to you Dana." She looked up. "What happened to you?" I ran a hand through my hair. I looked to my left to see what Michael was doing, but he was gone, he was over at the other end of the waiting room talking to some guy in a white lab coat.

I glanced toward Zoey and Dana, who still hadn't answered. "Guys, I think that's Logan's doctor." I motioned with my head toward where Michael was.

I watched Zoey's head whip around and look in the direction I motioned. Zoey came back towards me and held my hand, watching Michael's reactions anxiously. He was nodding serenely, then all of the sudden he backed up until the backs of his knees hit a chair and he collapsed in it. I hunched forward and put his head in his hands and I watched his shoulders shake. Zoey suddenly let go of my hand and was already halfway across the room before I registered what Michael's reaction could possibly mean. I watched Zoey kneel in front of Michael. I saw her mouth move, and I saw him shake his head, still holding it in his hands like it was something too heavy to bear right now.

I saw Zoey fall backward onto her butt and put her arms around her legs and rest her head on her knees. I ran for her in an attempt to save her from the pain, but it was already too late. Everyone in the ER already knew. It seemed like I was moving in slow motion. The boy I had lived with for years, who was like a brother to me, was _dead _it was almost impossible to think that.

I sat down beside Zoey on the cold linoleum floor and put my arm around her, trying to shield her from whatever I could. She turned to me and buried her face in my shoulder and cried. I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and looked toward Lola, Quinn, and Dana. Quinn and Lola were hugging each other, and Dana was curled into a chair, silent tears running down her otherwise emotionless face.

It is amazing to think that someone so young, so ready for life, was gone. Logan was so ready to get out of PCA, out of his father's shadow, now he couldn't even have a shadow. It was so sick, the way the young and the good always die. It is an almost impossible thought to conceive that Logan Reese, 18 years old, closet math geek, and ladies man, was dead.

I felt the weight of Zoey's head disappear and in a way, I was almost grateful to have the extra weight gone. I looked at her face and she nodded, and I let my head fall into her, letting myself cry. She shifted slightly so she could lean against the wall and she rested her cheek on the bake of my head. I pressed the tips of my fingers into her back so hard, I'm sure she bruised.

"Please don't ever leave me like this. Oh god, please." I begged her. I felt her nod and I felt almost relieved. That was one less loved one I had to worry about.

**Zoey's POV**

Chase followed me to my room when we got back to PCA. He made the call to Logan's dad. After he got off the phone it was like he was a different person. Something behind his eyes, that flame, was extinguished. I opened my door and flipped on the lights, but Chase flipped them off. He led me towards my bed and we laid down, him spooning behind me.

It almost felt wrong to be enjoying it when Logan couldn't enjoy something like this anymore. I laced Chase's fingers with mine and held them against my stomach.

"Logan's dad cried over the phone." He whispered hoarsely. "It was like he thought it was a really sick joke at first. Then the doctor came on the other line and told him about the trauma that the fall down the stairs caused, and how Logan was bleeding in his head, and that all the blood that couldn't get out caused pressure against his brain, and killed him. I wanted to hang up the phone and stop listening to all this stuff, but it was like, sick curiosity." He mumbled into my hair. I nodded and he pulled closer to me.

"It's going to be okay Chase." I whispered.

"Promise?" he questioned me. I hesitated for a second. I wasn't really sure if everything was going to be okay. I wasn't sure if either of us would ever be the same people. I think a part of everyone in our small group died along with Logan.

"Yes." I whispered after much thought. This wasn't a good time for reality. Logan's funeral was probably going to be in a few days, and I don't think anyone was going to handle that well at all. I thought about how everyone would wear black, but to be honest, I think Logan would want everyone to wear something vibrant, colorful, and exciting, like his life was. I think instead of a wake, Logan would want an after party.

I heard Chase's breath even out and I let myself relax. I had to be strong for him. I knew how much Logan meant to him. They were like brothers for years. After a few minutes, I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up, Chase's arm was still wrapped tightly around my waist. His eyes were open though. I turned to face him and on closer inspection, I noticed that there were tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. I kissed the wet trail of tears and I ran my thumb over his lips. I ran my fingers through his hair and held him close to me.

Suddenly, Chase's mouth was over mine, kissing me heatedly, his hands roamed beneath my shirt and felt the skin of my stomach. He carefully folded back my shirt and kissed the newly exposed flesh. I knew what he wanted, and I decided that I would let him have it, at least today I would. I pulled his face back up to mine and kissed him so deeply, I was sure I was going to get lost, and when he pulled away, my vision blurred and my lips itched for his, like he was a drug.

I lifted my head so that my lips came even with his ear and I whispered so gently, the permission he was so desperately seeking.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm soooo sorry for the long wait. Normally I would never make my readers wait this long for a chapter, but if you read my other Zoey 101 story, then you know why, and for those of you who haven't read 'Through the Rain', my computer crashed and all my entire hard drive was erased, including my stories and everything. I hope now that the computer is in working order because of some very dedicated computer people down the road about 10 minutes from me, I'll be able to send some chapter's you guys' way for being so patient.**

**Zoey's POV**

It had been exactly tow months since Logan died. His funeral was beautiful, white roses everywhere, a dark maple casket, and apparently, upon Logan's repeated request when he was younger, everyone was wearing vibrant colors. When his father spoke, it made the tears that had been flowing for days seem to come harder, faster, sadder

I kept thinking about the last time I saw Logan alive. We were at the lunch table. Chase and I had been tossing grapes into each other's mouths and kissing. Everything had seemed so trivial and simple in that moment. Everything seemed perfect, but little did we know that our lives would soon take a drastic turn for the worse.

I was lying on my bed, and Lola and Quinn were sitting in the beanbag chairs. We had all been this way since he died. Sitting there, thinking all the time. It was a depressing thing to do, but all the life was sucked out of everything. I also still hadn't told Lola or Quinn that Chase and I had slept together the day Logan died. It seemed like it would disgrace him or something. It felt like we cared so little about his death, that we were able to sleep together.

I sat up, preparing to leave to head to Sushi Rox to meet Chase for dinner, when suddenly, a sick feeling washed over me and I ran to the bathroom. I knelt beside the toilet and I threw up. I felt sweaty and shaky. I had been feeling like this for almost a month and a half. I would sit up and randomly feel like I had to vomit. Lola and Quinn came to the doorway and leaned against the frame. No one supported themselves anymore either, we were always leaning against something, we still needed something to help us get through the day.

"You okay Zoe?" Lola walked into the bathroom and sat beside me. She pushed a lock of hair from my eyes and handed me some toilet paper so I could wipe the taste from my mouth.

"Yeah, you've been like this for a while now. Maybe you should see the nurse or something?" Quinn suggested. Quinn hadn't made anything since Logan had died much to our surprise. I had expected her to add a room onto ours and turn it into a lab, and hole up in there until the sunshine really felt warm again.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I've been pretty achy and sore, I've been throwing up at random times for no reason at all and…" I trailed off. It was dawning on me. I had slept with Chase two months ago, and I don't remember having gotten my period since then. I hadn't even really noticed that the box of products I had hadn't really diminished. I had thought that maybe stress was doing it, because I'd read that it could happen.

Lola and Quinn were looking expectantly at me. My bottom jaw was hanging open and I my eyes were wide. I ran from the bathroom and grabbed a Blix from the fridge and took a sip from it. They followed me out and gave me quizzical stares, but I still didn't say anything to them. I quickly grabbed my backpack and rushed out of the door.

I had to talk to Chase. I couldn't say anything to anyone without talking to him first. I raced across campus, dodging girls and guys and kids on Jet-Xs. I was a girl on a mission. I arrived at Sushi Rox in record time. Chase was sitting at our usual table, and I rushed over to him, taking the seat across the table. I was breathing heavily and Chase looked at me like I was crazy.

"Is something wrong Zoey?" he had the most innocent look in his eyes, and I almost decided I wasn't going to tell him, but then he reached across the table and cupped my cheek in his hands and I knew that wasn't an option.

"Chase." I started. I wasn't sure how to phrase this particular sentence. I didn't think I would have to do it for years. He looked at me and smiled. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what might come after this. "Chase, I think I might be…." I stopped again.

"What is it Zoe? You know you can tell me anything, right?" he assured me. I smiled and nodded. I just had to spit it out. There was no avoiding it.

"Chase, I think I might- I think I might be pregnant!" I blurted, too loud for comfort. Chase looked at me like I had just spoken a foreign language, and in a way, it felt like I did. I was speaking adult, a language that neither of us were very well acquainted with yet.

**Chase's POV**

We walked up and down the isles of the pharmacy, searching for the right one. If anything could shock our small circle of friends back to life, it would be a baby, but the question was, were we ready to have it if there even was one?

"Are you sure you missed it." I asked her again. This had to be the 30th time, but who could blame me? I was scared. I was only 18 years old. Even if she was pregnant though, I wouldn't leave her. It would just be another obstacle to overcome, just like the Dana thing had been, but then I got a sick feeling in my stomach when I realized that this was something that was for the rest of your life, it wasn't something stupid like your friend kissing your boyfriend behind your back. You got over things like that, but a baby… That was a whole different ball park.

Zoey eyed me warily and nodded again. She suddenly stopped and I bumped into the back of her and she jolted forward a little before bouncing back to her spot. She let her hand wiggle at her side and I looked at what she was looking at. There they were.

The pregnancy tests. The cardboard boxes shimmered in the fluorescent light, and they all had pictures of women holding babies, or a positive, or the digital ones that said is big bold letters, PREGNANT!

Zoey grabbed three of the boxes and went to the front to pay. She tugged out her wallet after the cashier, a girl no older than Zoey and I, rang up the tests. I gently put a hand on her wrist and she looked at me. She looked like she was about to cry. I reached into my back pocket and pulled the money out and handed it to the cashier. When we walked out, the boxes bumping together in the barely there plastic bag, Zoey didn't talk. I figured I should follow her lead.

It had been a while. They had to be done by now, they had to. We had been sitting on the lip of the bathtub waiting for what seemed like hours, but the egg timer told us it had only been 5 minutes. Suddenly, the timer rang and I jumped up and practically ran to the counter, but I didn't touch them. I figured I'd leave that to her.

She slowly walked up and reached for one, but before she grabbed on of the small plastic sticks in her hand, I kissed her. She slowly kissed back and I held her waist tightly. I pulled away and looked her right in her brown eyes.

"No matter what these things say, I'll always be there for you. Always." She smiled at me, and she seemed to relax. I smiled back and she took one of the tests from the counter. I held my breath as she flipped it over and she started at it for a minute for looking at me.

"Positive." She mumbled.

"It could be one of those false positives the instructions talked about." I suggested.

She took another and looked at me again. She didn't have to tell me what it said. I already knew just by the look in her eyes. She reached for the last one but stopped, her hand hovering over the shiny plastic. She seemed to be contemplating on whether or not she wanted to seal her fate, but after a minute she reached down and grabbed it and quickly flipped it over. Suddenly a wave of tears washed over her face and she fell to the floor.

I knelt down beside her and I put my hands on her shoulders. I put my finger under her chin and I made her look at me. That look, it was still there. These weren't tears of relief, or of hope, they were tears of defeat. But I wouldn't believe it.

"What does it say?" I pushed and she looked down again before looking back up at me and whispering softly. "Goddamnit."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Another update while I wait for my show to come on!**

**Zoey's POV**

It had been almost a month since we found out. We planned to not tell anyone, at least not yet, or until it was necessary. After we got over the initial shock of it, we both decided that it was obviously a sign that Logan wanted us to remember him, so we decided that if the baby was a boy, no matter what, we were going to name it after Logan.

I was lying on my back when I looked in the full length mirror just across from me. That's when I noticed it. The small bump protruding on my stomach was definitely there. I mean, you wouldn't even notice it unless you looked really closely at the shape of it. I looked around the room to check that no one was there, even though I knew everyone was gone, before I let my hand snake to my once flat stomach. I lifted the thin fabric of my shirt and looked at the tanned skin and I wanted to cry.

My life was going to come to a screeching halt after this baby was born. It was actually due the day of our graduation. Suddenly, the door burst open and I flung my shirt down and closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"I swear Quinn; you are the most secretive person ever. Just tell me what you're inventing already!" I wanted to laugh out loud. Quinn, the most secretive person? I don't think so, I mean, I'm hiding a pregnancy from them for Christ's sake.

"No Lola, you're just going to have to wait like the rest of the world." Quinn snapped. I heard someone rest a bunch of plastic bags on a bed and I assumed it was Quinn with something for her new invention. She had finally gotten back into the inventing mood after almost 2 and a half months of not inventing anything.

Suddenly, I let myself sit up and act like they woke me up. They looked over and smiled warily at me, like they knew.

"Hey Zoe." Lola called from across the room.

"Morning sleepy head!" Quinn joked even though it was clearly night time.

"Hey guys." I fake yawned and pretended to close my eyes, but I secretly watched them. Lola quickly looked over to Quinn and shook her head, while Quinn rolled her eyes back.

"So… Zoey… Is there something you want to tell us?" Quinn blurted out. Lola bumped her shoulder and shook her head but Quinn ignored her.

"What are you talking about?" I stood up and walked over to the dresser, opening my jewelry box and pulling out a necklace.

"I'm talking about these." Quinn reached under Lola's mattress before she could even think of squealing a protest and pulled out three plastic sand which bags. In each of the bags was one of the pregnancy tests Zoey had taken just a month before. The positives were faded and nearly non existent, but upon closer inspection, you could clearly see that the digital test read PREGNANT!

"Zoe, if you're going to hide something like that, do it in a public garbage, not in a bathroom that only 3 of us share." Lola almost scolded.

"Sorry guys. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but in the end, me and Chase decided that we wanted to hold out until you really noticed it in me, not just finding out. But you guys have to swear not to tell anyone. I'm going to call Chase and tell him that he might as well tell Michael and Lo-…" I cut myself off before his name escaped my lips. I had totally forgotten that Logan was gone for a minute. Chase and Michael were actually scheduled to get a new roommate sometime this week.

Lola and Quinn squealed and nodded their promises as I took out my phone. They then started chatting about how cute the baby was going to be, and what I should name it. As the phone rang, I pulled it away from my ear and gently whispered "We're naming it Logan if it's a boy, so if your going to come up with any names, think of girl ones."

Suddenly I heard Chase's voice over the phone and I let the cell wander back up to my ear.

"Hey baby." He said into the phone and I smiled.

"Go tell Michael." I blurted. I had planned to tell him in a softer manner, but it just came out in a word blob.

"Wait, what? Why?" he whispered.

"Because Quinn and Lola figured it out." I told him simply and I heard him sigh heavily through the phone.

"I'll tell him when I get back to the dorm. The new guy is moving in today, and I'm kind of avoiding the room while he's moving in." He told me.

"Oh, okay, well, I love you." I told him sincerely.

"I love you too." He said back before I hung up.

**Chase's POV**

I was sitting by the fountain watching videos on my iPod for a while before I finally decided to make my way back to the dorm. But as I was walking, I noticed the baby weeping willow at the top of the hill and I thought of Logan. Suddenly, my course veered from heading to the dorm, to heading to the little willow.

The willow had been placed on the campus as a memorial to Logan. I had sat at the top of the hill with it next to me often since he died, but I had never really thought about it as I was now. Could it technically be a grave marker? I had been planning on visiting Logan's grave lately, but I was just having a hard time getting to it with Zoey being pregnant and mid-terms and everything.

When I got to the willow, I wanted to cry. I started at it for a minute and wondered if Logan could hear me. I sat down, facing the small sapling and I took a deep breath, readying myself to let loose.

"Hey man. How's it going up there in the big beach in the sky? It's been getting pretty messy down here without you. Zoey's pregnant, but I'm sure you already know that. Anyway, we all miss you, even Zoey. She told me the other day that if you came back for one day that she would make out with you just so you could say you did. Don't worry; if you plan on coming back, and she does, I won't be mad." I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes and continued.

"Dana's gone. She was expelled right after the dean found out you had died. I think she's on trial now or something like that. But anyway, it's getting pretty boring here without you. All the girls are getting depressed because they don't have your good looks to cheer them up anymore." I sniffled quickly and went on.

"I miss you man. We're getting a new roommate today, and I'm really not looking forward to seeing someone sleeping where you should be. I mean, it's like a violation. They think that just because it's been three months, means that we're all, all better. I mean, none of us are. You were our best friend-" I cut himself off abruptly before correcting myself.

"You _are _our best friend." I nodded and stood up, brushing the loose dirt off hmy knees. "I gotta go man. Love ya like a brother." I added before walking off.

By time I arrived at my dorm, Michael was storming out of it, shaking his head. I reached out an arm and stopped him. I looked at the room before looking back at Michael.

"That bad?" I asked, my eyes disbelieving.

"It's just not right man. It can never be good." Michael stormed off, leaving me to deal with the new guy.

I opened the door and I looked around, the new kid was standing with his back to me, he was putting a poster up by his bed. From the back, alls I could tell was that the kid had blond hair, when he turned around I could tell he was almost Logan-esque. He walked over and held out his hand, smiling broadly.

"The name's James. James Garrett."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Sorry about how long it's taken me to update

**A/N: Sorry about how long it's taken me to update. I lost interest in this story when I started writing for another TV show, Wildfire, and then I started writing for She's the Man a little, and I just didn't have time to update this story, but now that my Wildfire story is done, I can work on some chapters here. There are probably only going to be a few more chapters, 3-4 at the most.**

**Chase's POV**

James' hand was in front of me, and he looked as friendly as anyone could be, but my hand wouldn't stick out to grasp his own. I told it to reach out, get it over with, but I just stared dumbly at his hand. He looked at me curiously for a second before pulling his hand away and rubbing it on his pants nervously.

"Listen," he said, which got my attention, "I'm not trying to replace that Logan kid. I'm just trying to be the nice new kid." He explained, his hands moving fluently with his words. I didn't say anything; I just stared at him for a minute before moving to my bed and lying down.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Before I could even attempt to get up from the bed, James was opening the door, and I was kind of relieved, I needed to relax a minute. I heard James' voice chatting someone up, probably a girl looking for Logan. When I thought this, I almost choked on the air surrounding me. It had slipped from my mind so easily, I felt horrible, but I quickly pushed it aside, listening to James' conversation.

"Hey, I'm James Garret. I'm the new kid around here." He heard a familiar laugh, but the girl's reply was drowned out by a group of kids passing by.

"Hey, I know this is sudden and all, but I was wondering, would you like to get something to eat? For lunch maybe?" he heard James ask, and he was shocked by the boy's forwardness. Suddenly, he placed the nervous giggle that responded to James's lunch proposal.

I jumped from my bed and went to the door, putting my hand on James' shoulder. He looked back at me, a funny look in his eyes, almost as if he were trying to say, 'Dude, what are you doing? I'm trying to get a date.' I ignored the conversation he had tried to start with his eyes and looked past him at Zoey. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, and her eyes instantly registered relief when she spotted me.

"Chase." She breathed out, and James looked back at her, staring at her for a second before moving out of the way. He seemed totally shocked that a girl had just rejected him.

"Hey Zoe." I said, my arms wrapping around her. I felt her arms wrap around me, and I couldn't help but think of how perfectly we fit together.

I looked over at James, who's eyes seemed disappointed and upset. I could tell that he wasn't used to not getting what he wanted, but he would just have to deal with it this time. I wrapped my arm around Zoey's shoulder and brought her inside, pushing the door shut with my foot. I walked up to James and smiled at him confidently.

"James, this is Zoey Brookes, the love of my life." I said, a smirk on my face I'm sure.

James' eyes seemed to flicker angrily for a second before he smiled his eyes back to how they were just a second before. He looked over at Zoey, and I couldn't help but notice how his smile seemed to get bigger. I felt my arm involuntarily wrap tighter around Zoey's shoulders, and she looked over at me, giving me a questioning glance.

"I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you Zoey." James said coolly, his hand extending toward her. Zoey's hand reached out tentatively, like she was testing the waters of a pool she was thinking about splashing into. When they finished shaking hands, Zoey turned to me, her face all business. She led me to my bed, and we sat down on it. She laced her fingers with mine and she looked over at James, who had continued to put up posters, but you could tell that he was listening to what Zoey was going to say.

"Did you tell him yet?" she asked me in a hushed whisper. I shook my head.

"Michael was leaving just when I was getting here. He was upset about…" I looked over at James, then back to Zoey, "… for me to really want to tell him what was going on.

"Why don't you tell James then?" she asked, her eyes darting over to my new roommate, who was now looking over at us.

"Tell me what?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. I looked at Zoey, my mouth open. She was looking at James, and I felt her put a hand over her stomach.

"I'm pregnant." She said proudly. James gaped at her, before his eyes shifted to me, like he didn't believe Zoey.

"Congrats?" he asked more that said. I looked over at Zoey, who was beaming.

"Definitely." I said, and I gave Zoey a huge kiss before she could protest.

**Zoey's POV**

I couldn't help but laugh at the look on James' face when I told him I was pregnant. When I laughed though, he decided that it must have been a joke, which it wasn't. When he started to laugh to, I stopped, giving him a funny look. When he noticed my staring, he slowly stopped, confused by my behavior.

"I really am pregnant." I said, but he looked like he didn't believe me, so I did the next best thing other than telling him and taking him to my next ultrasound appointment, I lifted my shirt and showed off my newly sprouted bump. He stared at my stomach for a minute before looking at my face, his eyes displaying a mixture of shock, and disappointment.

"Why would you do this?" he asked me. I looked over at Chase, who looked furious. I put a hand on his knee, and his face started returning to its normal color.

"We were grieving over Logan, and we did something stupid." I said. I felt Chase nod beside me, but James was still looking unconvinced.

"Why would you be grieving, he was only kicked out." He said shrugging. This time, I was the one who felt my temper flaring. I stood up and walked over to James, and I must have had the nastiest expression on my face because he paled when I got near him.

"Don't you ever talk about Logan like he was nothing!" I yelled, tears streaming down my face. "Logan wasn't kicked out for your information." I watched his face go from fear, to horror. "Logan was killed in this school. Don't you ever talk about Logan like you just did, or so help me god you're going to be the next person to die." I pointed a finger in his face and he nodded slowly, showing me he understood.

I felt Chase come up behind me, putting his hands on my shoulders and leading me out of the room. I felt the knots in my stomach loosen, and I felt the heat in my face start to subside. When we got to the fountain, I had almost fully cooled off, but I still wanted to shout and scream and kick and hit things.

I was more broken up about Logan's death than I let on. He was really one of my closest friends, even though he acted like a pigheaded jerk some times; he was really just a kid who needed some discipline. I looked over at Chase and he smiled, wiping the tears I hadn't realized were still falling. I smiled back at him and snuggled into his warmth.

"It just, makes me so angry, you know?" I asked him, and I felt his arm snake around my waist.

"I know Zoe, but you can't let it get to you…" he hesitated for a minute, as if he wasn't sure he should keep going, "...especially now that you're, that we're…" he trailed off.

"I know, I know." I assured him, sitting up on my own. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. "Lets go find Michael and tell him." I said, and he stood up, tugging me up after him.

We walked around campus, hand in hand for a while. My hand kept coming around to cover my stomach, thinking that someone was going to notice it, or recognize the swelling. Chase kept batting my hand away, his eyes scolding. "What?" I asked, my eyes narrowed, and my hand coming back around to rest on my stomach once again.

"If you keep doing that, people are going to notice." He told me, and I couldn't help but agree with his logic. The point was to keep it quiet, not let everyone in on the secret.

"It's not like they aren't going to find out anyway." I replied defiantly, for some reason, I had been having the weirdest mood swings, but then I felt like smacking myself on the forehead. I was pregnant, duh.

When we finally found Michael, he was sitting at the lunch table, eating from a family sized bag of potato chips. I looked at Chase, making sure he wanted to do this. He shrugged at me before looking back at Michael.

"I wouldn't want to leave him in the dark. Everyone else knows, even the guy that just moved into the room that I don't even know." He said, his eyes trained on Michael. I nodded and we walked up to the boy, the crunching of the chips clearly audible. For some reason, telling Michael was worse than having to tell Chase. Chase tapped him on the shoulder, and Michael looked around, his head whipped back and forth before finally spotting us. He smiled that easy smile of his and I couldn't help but smile back.

Michael was like my brother. I could tell him anything, and he would totally understand and he would always be on my side. He was one of the nicest people I knew, and I knew me and Chase could trust him.

"Dude, we got something to tell you." Chase said to him, and Michael's eyes narrowed. He looked at me, a question in itself, but I only bit my lip and looked away.

"What?" He asked, taking another chip from the bag and putting it in his mouth.

Before I realized what I was saying, it came out of my mouth, a spilled confession. "Michael, I'm pregnant."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry for the long wait

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I just have started losing interest. I swear I'll finish the story, I just don't know how long it'll be until it is. Anyway, here it is.**

**Zoey's POV**

Michael stared blankly at me, the easy smile he had just put on fading quickly. I fidgeted with Chase's hand while I waited for him to say something. He stared at my stomach for a long minute before staring at Chase. Michael smiled sadly before standing up and hugging me.

I was shocked at first, unsure of what to do. I tentatively reached my arms around him, testing the feeling, before hugging him fully. I felt so relieved, having everyone know. I smiled weakly into Michael's shoulder. Chase's face was showing obvious relief.

"Thanks for telling me." Michael said once he pulled away, only to pull Chase into a hug as well.

"I'm glad we told you." I told him softly, and the corners of his lips pulled up into a genuine smirk.

"Does everyone else know?" He asked, and I nodded. He nodded too. "How long until the spawn is born?" he questioned, and I felt myself smile. Michael had such a weird way of doing that. He always managed to make everyone smile, despite the fact that everyone was miserable.

"I'm about 4 months along, so five months about." I told him, and he nodded.

"Do you know what you're going to have?" he asked. It surprised me that he was being so casual about this. I smiled at him gratefully and he smiled back warmly. He knew that Chase and I were obviously having a hard time. It was just like Michael to try and make everyone happy.

"We're kind of hoping for a boy, but anything is fine really." I told him, and Chase nodded in agreement. Michael smiled. I wondered briefly if he knew what we were planning to name it. "We want to name it after Logan. We're hoping for something like Logan… Michael maybe?" Michael beamed, and I looked over to Chase. We hadn't really discussed middle names, and I had practically just promised Michael that the baby would have his middle name if it were a boy, but Chase sat there, beaming just as wide as Michael was.

"Really, you'd make his middle name after me?" he was still beaming with unguarded enthusiasm. I felt Chase look to me, that wide smile I loved so much still on his face.

"Of course Michael, you're one of our best friends." I told him softly, and my eyes suddenly prickled with unshed tears. "You mean a lot to both of us." I said, my voice heavy with emotion.

Michael made his way to us, kneeling down in front of me. I wasn't really surprised this. I half expected this from him. A group of girls passed by us, eyeing us warily. I turned and glared at them. They stopped looking, but continued to walk slowly enough so that they would hear any potential gossip. Well, they were about to get the mother load of gossip.

"Hey there little Chase and Zoey." Michael said, putting his hands on either side of my swelling stomach, pulling his face closer to it. The girls couldn't help themselves. They turned toward me and stared with wide eyes. I smiled at them, a sickly sweet look. They quickly turned and scurried off, eager to tell everyone of their find. "I know you're still small, and it isn't really up to you, but please be a boy. It would mean a lot to Uncle Michael if you were." He concluded before standing up. He looked at me and smiled widely.

"There, not it should definitely be a boy." He said proudly, and I laughed out loud.

"Just because you asked it to be a boy?" I said through bursts of laughter. Michael nodded proudly.

"There are a lot of women in my family, and for some reason, whenever I talk to the baby, and ask it to be a certain gender; they always end up being that one. Ask any of the mommies to last 10 babies I asked." He said, and I wasn't surprised. This was typical Michael. "If it's a girl, then I won't eat chips for a week!" he added. He glanced at his watch before scrunching his face in displeasure. "I gotta go, but I'll see you guys later." He said before grabbing his stuff and running off.

"That is so Michael." Chase and I said together. We looked at each other, managing to stay composed to only a moment before bursting out in laughter.

**Chase's POV**

Zoey's pregnancy rumor spread around the school quickly, and by time she was 7 months, everyone knew. She didn't seem to mind though. Her stomach had grown to epic proportions, and it seemed like at any moment, the large basketball like stomach under her shirt might pull her down with the weight, but she seemed totally at ease carrying it around.

We had gone for the gender appointment at 5 months, but we had waited until now to announce it to our friends. They were all gathered in my room, their faces eager as they chatted, there was a bet going around as to whether it was a boy or a girl. Michael and Lola went with boy, while James threw in his two cents, saying girl, and Quinn bet that we weren't able to find out.

Zoey waddled into the room after her third bathroom break in the past 2 hours. James looked at her wistfully, and I felt myself tense. What was wrong with this guy? She was _mine_. Everyone knew that from the very beginning. It was always going to be Zoey and I. There was no other way that it could work out. We were made for each other. What about that did this kid not get?

Zoey went to stand next to me, grasping my hand tightly. I smiled encouragingly at her, my eyes quickly roving over the room at our friends. They were the ones who stayed loyal to Zoey and I. Everyone else was busy either making comments on how dumb we were, how Zoey was a slut, or how we were irresponsible, or they were ignoring us like we were lepers.

Zoey cleared her throat and everyone was instantly silent. They had become accustomed to Zoey's intense mood swings over the past couple of months, and they knew when it was okay to do things, and when it wasn't. They stared at her intently, their attention directly on her. She smiled warmly, and everyone visibly relaxed.

"As you know, Chase and I found out the gender of the baby a few months ago." Everyone nodded, their faces riveted to the beautiful, glowing girl standing next to me. "Well, we've decided that it's time to tell you all what it was." She waited while some of the excited chattering died down before continuing. "And the verdict is…" she paused, and everyone goaned.

"Come on Zoe!"

"Don't you keep us waiting!"

"Don't make me beat it out of you!"

All the comments came at once, sending the love of my life into a fit of giggles. "Okay, okay, okay!" she said, trying to calm everyone. "It's a BOY!" she shouted and everyone cheered, despite the fact that they were all betting against each other. "And they name we've chosen is Logan Michael Matthews." She said, a look of surreal happiness on her face.

I looked over at James, he was the only one not cheering, but he was staring intently at Zoey, as if there was something about her that he just couldn't shake. I narrowed my eyes. Maybe it's the fact that she's seven months pregnant with _my_ baby? I practically growled at him. He noticed my glare and quickly looked away from Zoey.

I smiled at Zoey, and she pushed herself against me, her stomach pressing into my lower stomach. I cradled her face in my hands and kissed her deeply, earning woops and hollers from our friends, I smiled, feeling her do the same. I ran my tongue over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, letting my tongue slip in to taste her.

Perfect as always.

**A/N: Yeah. It's crap. Sorry. I figured I'd update anyway though. I wrote this all in like, 40 minutes by the way. Read and review.**


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